New iPad Pro rivals 2018 MacBook Pro's performance, say benchmarks

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro can cost as much as $1,899 if you want 1TB of storage and LTE. Add Smart Keyboard Folio, and you’ve got a $2,100 “computer”, as Apple would like consumers to see it.

It’s not cheap but new Geekbench scores show that the A12X chip powered iPad Pro has multi-core performance comparable to the 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro with Intel’s six-core Core i7 chips.

The scores are just a snapshot of performance but nonetheless line up with Apple’s claims at the iPad launch this week that it would see a major performance boost over last year’s iPad Pro. Multi-core tasks are up to 90 percent faster, Apple said.

A handful of the new A12X iPads on Geekbench clock up a single-core score of around 5,000 and a multi-core score of about 18,000. The MacBook Pro, which starts at $2,799, has scores of around 5,000 and 20,000, respectively.

Apple doesn’t quote RAM in its iOS device specifications, but developer Steve Troughton-Smith says the new iPad Pro with 1TB has 6GB of RAM, while iPad Pro with 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities get 4GB of RAM.

The new iPad Pro includes Face ID, and does away with Apple’s Lightning port in favor of USB-C, allowing it to connect to a 5K display or use its larger battery as a power bank for an iPhone.

The 11-inch and 12.9-inch models are available for pre-order today and will be available to purchase from November 7.

Apple’s iPad exploded into the consumer tech market in April of 2010, months ahead of the first Android-powered tablet, and since then the company has sold some 400 million units. Let’s take a look at where this device started, and how it has changed and evolved over the years.